Earthquake: The Long Road Back : Food Stamp Cheaters Anger Those in Need

Because of the food stamp cheats, Lydia Sanchez and her four children have survived on food donated by local churches while waiting in long lines for food stamps to be issued.

Outside the Panorama City welfare office Monday, Sanchez and about 1,500 other earthquake victims--many without food or a place to sleep--were told by county employees using bullhorns to communicate in Spanish, English and Armenian that there was now a waiting period.

The cheats, they told those in the crowd, beat them to their food stamps last week.

Thousands of people who suffered losses in the quake were granted emergency food vouchers the day they applied last week. But because of suspicions that many of the applications were fraudulent, a 72-hour waiting period was instituted to give county workers time to verify claims.

“Everyone who was doing wrong got what they wanted, and now the ones who are honest and really need it have to wait for three days,” said Sanchez, of North Hollywood.

Sanchez was among many in line Monday who were frustrated because they had waited in line last week, they were waiting again this week and, after filling out their applications, they will wait three more days for their vouchers.

She waited in line all day last Tuesday with her children without obtaining any vouchers.

Maurice Carter, who applied for food stamps for the first time on Monday, is living in a friend’s motor home. His Van Nuys apartment was condemned after the earthquake and he lost his job as a customer service worker when his work site was heavily damaged. He blamed government officials for failing to prevent the fraud last week.

“Isn’t that what computers are for?” Carter said. “It seems to me that the government ought to be able to check people pretty quickly.”

County officials say they are now vigorously pursuing food-stamp cheats and one suspect was arraigned Monday in federal court. Four other suspects are scheduled to be arraigned today.

Several people in line Monday said some ineligible people were circumventing the application process by buying others’ food stamp vouchers. Tricia Hendrix of Van Nuys said a man offered her a voucher for $20.

“Most people in line have been very understanding,” said Bryce Yokomizo, East Valley District director for the Los Angeles County Department of Social Services. “But many of the people in line have been complaining about those who abuse the system.”

However, Angel Pastrana of Northridge, an unemployed father of six, said he was sickened by the fraud.

“I’ve never had to depend on the state for anything until now, and I’m proud of that,” he said. “Don’t these people have any pride? How could they take handouts from the state when they don’t need them?”

More than 3,000 people also waited in line at Dodger Stadium Monday, one of four large processing centers county officials opened in the hopes of avoiding the mass confusion of last week. There were extremely long lines last week at the 29 county welfare offices and numerous tales of abuse as about 50,000 people applied for the emergency food vouchers.

This week, county officials tried to rectify the situation by establishing centralized application centers and steering applicants away from some of the overburdened county welfare offices. And by verifying claims, officials hoped to keep the cheats away.

Although people still waited at Dodger Stadium and other sites on Monday, the processing program had fewer hitches than last week. The lines at the large centers moved quicker, there were more employees to handle the paperwork and there was a large police presence to keep order.

But there are still glitches that need to be addressed, said Lew Hollman, an attorney for San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services. The elderly and disabled are forced to wait in long lines, in the hot sun, and the county has made no special provisions for them. And, he said, none of those who filled out the food stamp forms were given any paperwork to verify that they had applied.

“This could lead to major problems,” Hollman said. “If 1,000 applications are lost, what happens to those people. Does that mean they’ve lost the chance to obtain any food stamps?”

Within 72 hours of making a claim, applicants are supposed to be notified by mail that they can pick up their vouchers, which are provided through a U. S. Department of Agriculture program that is being managed by Los Angeles County.

Now there are a number of precautions officials are taking to prevent fraud. Every application will be cross-checked by the county’s central computer system, said Mike Collins, a division chief for the county Department of Public Social Services. If people attempt to apply for the emergency food vouchers a second time or if they claim more dependents than the last time they applied for county benefits, their cases will be referred to fraud investigators.